Chapter 37.1

Chapter 37.1

“…Is this the place? The one you said we’d stop by?”

Heeju felt a little embarrassed when she stepped out of the car. She noticed a few expensive sedans parked in the limited parking spaces. At the entrance to the building from the parking lot, there was an arched pillar with an old signboard fixed at the top.

「Sarang Orphanage」

“Do you know this place?”

Chulhyun casually asked and locked the car doors with the remote.

“…A little.”

“What does ‘a little’ mean?”

Heeju pointed at the worn-out signboard with her fingertip.

“I grew up here.”

“Really? That’s interesting.”

Chulhyun’s eyes followed the direction she pointed. A banner hanging on the arched pillar fluttered wildly in the winter wind.

“Jungdo Construction has been sponsoring this place. For about three years, I think?”

The words “Christmas Sponsorship Day” on the banner were starting to fade.

“They sponsor a lot of places, but this is the only one where the Executive Director attends the event in person. But you, Ms. Ko Heeju, being from an orphanage? That’s a bit unexpected. You don’t seem like it.”

“You don’t seem like it either, Mr. Lee Chulhyun.”

Chulhyun let out a hearty laugh, as if he’d received an unexpected compliment. White puffs of breath scattered from his lips.

“I’m the type who obviously grew up without parents. I’m worlds apart from someone like you, Ms. Ko Heeju.”

He rubbed his face with his palm to wipe away the traces of a smile and looked at Heeju.

“So, then you lived here until you became an adult? Until you were 18?”

“No. It was much earlier than that. My older sister took me with her when she left as soon as she became an adult.”

“Aha? Having siblings really is something to be jealous of. Still, it must feel good to come back to your home after so long, right?”

Heeju replied, her gaze fixed on the orphanage building beyond the arched pillars.

“I don’t have many good memories here. I never thought of this place as home.”

“Orphanages are pretty much all the same. I’m kind of an odd case. I still visit mine sometimes. Anyway, let’s head inside. Eugh, it’s freezing.”

Chulhyun hunched his shoulders and buttoned up his coat. Then he pulled his phone from his pocket, pressed a button, and held it to his ear.

“Hyung-nim, we’re here. Where are you?”

After a short phone call, he walked ahead. Heeju followed behind Chulhyun, looking around as they walked.

She hadn’t been back since leaving with her sister, so it had been almost ten years. The main building was as old and worn as she remembered, but it seemed some parts had been expanded.

A new building she didn’t recognize stood next to the main one. Chulhyun walked briskly toward it and as he opened the glass door, he heard the sound of a ball bouncing on the floor.

The high ceiling made the sound reverberate, and the faint smell of a newly built structure lingered in the air. So, the donations had gone toward building a gymnasium.

“Ah, there he is.”

Chulhyun, holding the door open for Heeju, looked around and smiled. On one side of the gym, a group of people were playing basketball.

Among the middle and high school-aged kids running around, one man stood out and towered over them like an extra head above the crowd. It was Kwon Gukhyun.

He was wearing a white shirt and bouncing a basketball on the floor. His suit jacket was carelessly thrown on the edge of the court, and the end of his tie was tucked into the buttons of his shirt as if it was annoying to him.

“Stay here for a bit. I’ll go talk to him.”

Chulhyun walked toward the court, leaving Heeju behind. Yunam, who had been talking with an orphanage staff member outside the court, spotted Chulhyun and gestured subtly. Chulhyun approached and handed him something.

And Heeju was watching Gukhyun. The gym was filled with the buzz of voices, the constant squeak of sneakers against the floor, and the rhythmic thud of the basketball, all jumbling together in her ears. The suited men stood out awkwardly, but Gukhyun, mingling with the kids, wore a refreshing smile on his handsome face.

He stretched both arms and took a shot. The ball arced through the air, swished into the hoop, and shook the net.

As cheers erupted, a sharp sense of unease flooded Heeju’s mind.